Looking for the best tent campgrounds near Broken Bow? The Dyrt helps you find campsites with tent camping near Broken Bow. Whether you're looking for a quiet, dispersed site or an established camgpround with amenities, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect place to pitch your tent.
Located in the southeastern corner of the Bessey Ranger District on the Dismal River, this 10-site campground has potable water, nine horse corrals, picnic tables, fire rings, and modern vault toilets. It is situated on the OHV trail system. No electricity is available.
Legend
Free dispersed site. Coordinates: 41.82207,-100.31366. Camped here on Sept 6, 2024. Along Forest Road 203, on a short little used unnamed track which dead ends at a barb wire fence and gate. Campervan fit okay with some leveling was needed. Sandy, grassy base. No cell service. The drive down on the unpaved east side of FR 203 Bessey Circle Rd was okay; narrow is places, but no obstacles. There is a path next to the site which goes nowhere, but okay for a stroll. FR203 had some traffic on it due to hunting season. This was the only dispersed site that I found directly off of the east leg of Circle Road, FR203. There was nothing remarkable about this site; just okay for an overnight stay. There are other dispersed campsites along FR201 further south. This forest road is being reconstructed toward Whitetail Campground; high clearance 4x4 is recommended as one travels closer to this campground.
Legend
Great little RV park in a park-like setting. Gravel roads with relatively level gravel sites. Shared services. Lots of big trees. Long pull-through site to leave the truck and TT attached. Cross the little covered bridge into Lake Helen Rec Area for a good walkabout. Visit downtown Gothenburg to see the Pony Express station. We liked it and would stay here again.
Guide
We love that lots of small towns in this area offer camping at ball fields, etc. There are bathrooms and showers! The hot water in ladies does work, just adjust NOT to hottest setting. Only ones camping. Trains were close and often, but you somehow get used to it.
Scout
Clean, campground, everything you need is available. The river access is nice and our dogs enjoyed swimming. The train is annoying, blaring its horn at least hourly, if not more often.
LegendBessey NF Rec Campground : (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good
(72 yr olds in 27’ trailer.)
Overall Rating: 3.5. There are some nice sites, but many are in groups o 2 or 3. I took pics of some of my favorite somewhat secluded sites
Price 2024: $10 for electric sites and $15 for non-electric sites- both prices are w interagency pass
Security: no
Usage during visit: 1/2
Visual Privacy Between Adjacent Sites: most sites no
Site Spacing: depends on the site
Pad surface: gravel
Reservations: Yes. Current night and 3 nights out are first come first serve.
Campground Noise: Some OHV noise and voices during the day. Was quiet at night. Note there are a lot of OHVs in the campground.
Outside Road Noise: none
Through Traffic in campground:
Electric Hookup: some sites
Sewer Hookup: no
Dump Station: ye
Potable Water Available: spigots throughout the cg
Bathroom: yes
Showers: yes
Pull Throughs: some
Cell Service (AT&T): 2 to 3 bars
Setting: near a river with lush tree growth.
Recent Weather: highs are mid 70s to 80s
Solar: some sites.
Insects: not many right now.
Host: yes
Rig Size: large rigs fit in some sites.
Sites: sites near the water beginning with number 33 are not that great. They don’t have a good view. I took pics of some of my favorite trailer sites. Most of them, our 26’ trailer will fit in.
TravelerThe sites are very confusing. We had to move to a different site because we could not understand how/where to park or hook up to water and electricity. There was nobody around at all; just a phone number which we called and texted and got no response back. The bathrooms, while clean, were old and a bit worn. It’s not a great campground but it’s acceptable for overnight
RangerThe best thing about this campground is that it’s shady and a ways off of the interstate. Otherwise it’s old and tired, with small sites and odd shared hookups between spaces. (Eg. - our water hookup was Ammon a pole right next to our door and the picnic table. The bathrooms were old but clean. There was a cute covered bridge on a trail to the main park which was the best thing about it. There were only a few other campers there, but I cannot imagine what it would be like if it was full. We were there during a boil water order for the entire town, and we appreciated that they emailed us about it so we knew to bring our own water and not use the campground’s.
GuideThere are about 10 spots around the pond. We took one of the3 pull through right next to I-80. Plenty of space, level, shade and if you just look at the lake: quit a nice view. The noise from I-80 ist always there (about 200') but it's constant and was ok for us (rather than trains every 30 minutes). There's a lot of trash but that's to be expected in a area like this. We cleand up some and it was ok for a night
Traveler
The sites are mostly level and well groomed grass with 2 new concrete handicap spots. The 30 amp and 50 amp power was proper voltage and dependable. Access to clear line of site to south for Dish or Directv is difficult due to heavy tree population. Non-Nebraska resident requires $14 pass in addition to the $30 fee with electric. Potable water is available and dump station is easily accessible with a rinse water source. Ingress and egress is good with gravel road surfaces in park. The restrooms and showers are very clean and accessible.
Traveler
Bathrooms and play for the kids. There are lots of picnic tables. Well maintained. Donation Box
Scout
My dog and I were the only ones there on a quiet Monday night.
GuideDecided to cut our drive in half by staying here on our way to Smith Falls. It was a Monday night but it was very quiet other than the hum of the mosquitos!
-Side note: the vault bathrooms were a whole lot cleaner than some of our past experiences at other State Parks
Scout
It was very nice except for people drinking in the park
TravelerGreat spot with lots of trees and good sized sites. I arrived on a Sunday afternoon and they were only half full & by night only a few more people came. Bugs were pretty bad. Unfortunately a bad storm moved in so we weren’t able to enjoy the evening. The trees kept us protected from the wind and hail. Would come back again!
TravelerThe only way to reserve a site is through camp spot and we have a little trouble with that because it did not let me pick my site number. We arrived Friday evening on Memorial weekend and it was crowded. The campsite is great on the pocketbook but you have to pay a $10 fee to lock in your site and I am so glad we did! There was only three other empty spots in the entire campground and they were all marked reserved when we got there. The campground was pretty busy We were a little disappointed in our site because it was very small and kind of sandwiched between two big campers so not a lot of privacy and not a lot of room. There were a lot of people fishing and kayaking and a lot of dogs. There are showers and bathrooms but they are up near the entrance to the campground although they did have porta potties near the campsites. Although the grounds were well maintained the grass was mowed there was volleyball net setup disc golf available a pet exercise area the fountain was beautiful and shady in most areas. We would probably return on a non-holiday weekend when it's not so busy.
Scout
The grounds host was very helpful getting me to my spot. The restrooms and showers were emaculate.
TravelerClean sites with just a few quiet RVers. Clean bathrooms. Easy dump site. Worth the few miles to drive off 1-80. Beautiful big trees throughout the RV park and along the paved, 1-mile loop trail. Online reservations. Verizon = 2 bars.
TravelerLittle ways off I 80, but worth the trip. Very well maintained , nice bathrooms and showers. A lot of space between sites, both pull thrus and back ins.
ScoutWhat a neat little place right off 80. Clean bathrooms. Laundry. A dried up creak right alongside the campground. Perfect for walking your dog. Well shaded. Everything is dirt but not it’s really nice here. I rolled in pretty late and the person working here drove me to my site and held the flashlight to help me set up. Very nice man. Definitely coming back
Scout
The RV spots are easy to back into and are all concreted. Very clean park! Bathrooms are OK, 2 flush toilets and a sink. Electric and water hookups, and sewer dump available as you leave the park. Not too shabby for $25. Train tracks are close by however.
Guide
Very peaceful location and almost all “primitive” camping spots are right along the water. Did see about 5 trailers there as well and saw two spots with electricity.
The “primitive” spots were well maintained and a lot of them had fire pits and tables as well as left over firewood. They were all well shaded as well.
There are two outhouse style bathrooms, a swing set, merry-go-round and monkey bars.
Great place for young kiddos.
Signs posted stated free camping for up to 14 days.
We stayed at the last spot at the end of the road and didn’t have a single neighbor so it was nice and secluded.
There is an integrity stand where you can buy bundles of wood for $5.
TravelerBooked last minute for a night, ended up staying 2 nights. Great place, great service, and Steve was awesome. Highly recommend!
ScoutSuper clean and easy place to grab zzz dump and refill!
GuideGreat campsite, good facilities, plenty of space and shade. Not too noisy. Reasonable price. Definitely recommend
ScoutFlushing toilets, showers. 2 hookups if you need it. Water. Only ones camping on a Friday night. Did I mention the train? Otherwise great!
GuideVery nice little campground. Well manicured. Nice tent camping pads. Spots are well shaded. Has modern bathroom with FREE showers. Has primitive toilets scattered everywhere. Have walking, Jeep, ATV trails all over. Nice little pond to catch a few fish. Overall a very nice spot. A little noisy during the day with all the ATV traffic, but nice and quiet at night!
ScoutI was heading to Colorado in 2022 and decided to give this place a try. I was greeted by the owner and his partner, and given a nice pull through site for my RV and toad. Period kind of rustic, but clean maintained. The owners talked about the plans. I had to make renovations to this former KOA camp ground regardless I will keep this on my list. Crews and may be a day or two extra in the future.
Frequently Asked Questions
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